— by WILLIAM STERR — Who hasn’t dreamed of leaving home, making good somewhere in the wider world, and then returning to our roots to make a personal dream come true? That is the story of identical twins Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore (both played by Michael B. Jordan), two black men who return […][...]
Review: Weapons
— by WILLIAM STERR — A parents’ worst nightmare: your children disappear without a trace. There is no ransom demand. Nothing. Seventeen children from Ms. Justine Gandy’s (Julia Garner – “The Fantastic Four: First Steps“) third-grade class disappeared at 2:17 a.m. on a Wednesday. One student, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher – “An Almost Christmas Story”), […][...]
Review: Come See Me in the Good Light
— by BEV QUESTAD — Wellness Check In any moment on any given day I can measure my wellness by this question: Is my attention on loving, or is my attention on who isn’t loving me? That’s by Andrea Gibson. Straight to the core of the human experience. Stops me — can’t read another poem […][...]
Review: Cover-Up
— by BEV QUESTAD — Parents from the heartland reported that their kind son had returned from serving in the US Army a murderer. There had been a terrible atrocity in Vietnam that was being covered up. If you are over 70 years old, you remember it. The My Lai massacre was a United States […][...]
Review: Wicked: For Good
— by BEV QUESTAD — Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked: For Good” is a spectacle. It is to be seen like fireworks on the Fourth of July. Glinda’s dresses are filmy cotton candy delights and her transparent bubble mobile lets us gaze at her dreamy pink-hued superficially perfect life as the spokesperson for the deceitful Wizard […][...]
Review: The Voice of Hind Rajab
— by WILLIAM STERR — Warning! This re-enactment (not dramatization) of a real-life tragedy in Gaza is not for the faint-hearted. Even though there is no violence, the level of emotion displayed, and the fact that a young life is held so precariously in the balance, makes this film far more gripping than fictions like […][...]
Review: Bugonia
— by BEV QUESTAD — I messed up. I thought the title was “Begonia” after the flowering plant. But then I checked the spelling and then its definition. Boy, was I off track on that – and a lot more. Kudos go to the writer, Will Tracy, for the obscure title concept. Though his screenplay […][...]
Review: Sentimental Value
— by BEV QUESTAD — Oh, my precious Norway, you consistently rank in the top 10, amongst other Scandinavian countries, of the happiest in the world. You have one of the safest, most comprehensive, caring governments on the planet, yet it’s from your country we get your consistent exploration of the dark side, like Edvard […][...]
Review: Train Dreams
— by BEV QUESTAD — Sometimes it seems that life happens to us – that we just go along, minding our business, trying hard to do our best and then, wham — a bad thing happens or a good thing happens, without will on our part. That’s the way it seems for Robert Grainier. Around […][...]
Review: The Perfect Neighbor
— by BEV QUESTAD — Filmed via police body cams, police procured videos, and 911 recordings, “The Perfect Neighbor” is an Oscar nominee for Best Documentary. It’s a powerful way to create film verité – no voice-overs and no explanatory narration. You just get the action and voices as recorded by police devices. It all […][...]